Wednesday, April 11, 2007 Pacquiao in six rounds By Rommel C. Manlosa Sun.Star Staff Reporter
FORMER world champion Jesse James Leija predicted a knockout win for the Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao this Sunday at the Aladome in San Antonio, Texas in the US.
“With what I see on the conditioning and fitness of Manny, I am confident that he can knock out Solis in five or six rounds,” said Leija in an interview with a GMA-7 news crew in Texas.
Leija, also known as “The Texas Tornado,” once ruled the WBC super featherweight division, the same class that Pacquiao and challenger Jorge Solis is fighting this April 15 (RP time) at the Alamodome in Texas.
According to his record at www.boxrec.com, before retiring after losing to Arturo Gatti in 2005, Leija has fought against marquee fighters like Shane Mosley and Oscar dela Hoya—losing both matches. The Tornado also defeated former WBC super featherweight champion Louie Espinosa for the NABF crown.
It is not only Leija, who owned the gym Pacquiao practiced at in San Antonio, who was impressed with the Filipino ring gladiator but the media and fans as well who attended the public workout.
Meanwhile, Wild Card Gym conditioning coach Justine Fortune denied reports that he doesn’t want his boss Freddie Roach to be in Pacquiao’s on Sunday.
Fortune, who is a long-time assistant to Roach, said he was just misquoted, giving the impression that he and Roach had an outstanding grudge.
“Let me clarify things. I am a conditioning coach ever since I’ve been with Freddie. I am not a tactician like Freddie. And I never said I wanted him out of Manny’s corner this Saturday. Freddie is my boss and if he says he’ll come, he’ll come. I was just misquoted,” Fortune said in a report posted at Philboxing.com.
Roach, who is in Puerto Rico to train dela Hoya and ALA Boys Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista and Alex John Banal, has repeatedly announced he will be in Pacquiao’s corner when his fighter takes on the taller Solis for the WBC international super featherweight belt. (RCM)
